US Rep. introduces bill to ban Trump from holding future office
Section 3 conveys that any former president who became involved in an “insurrection or rebellion” shall not “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.”
US Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island suggested a legislative act, on the basis of the 14th amendment on Thursday, to ban former US president Donald Trump from taking office in the future.
In the 14th amendment, section 3 conveys that any former president who previously took an oath to support the Constitution and became involved in an “insurrection or rebellion” shall not “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.”
'A government you tried to destroy'
Cicilline recalled during his announcement of the legislation, supported by 40 House Democrats, that Trump "very clearly" engaged in the infamous Capitol riots and insurrection on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy,” Cicilline said, adding that the bill holds testimony and evidence exhibiting Trump's prominent role on that day. It also demonstrates the ways in which Trump incited violence and tried to intimidate state and federal officials when no support was shown for his false claims of the election being rigged.
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“The 14th Amendment makes clear that based on his past behavior, Donald Trump is disqualified from ever holding federal office again and, under Section 5, Congress has the power to pass legislation to implement this prohibition,” Cicilline, who served as an impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019, relayed.
The insurrection was so controversial that it exceeded the territories of the US and jumped straight into Germany. German extremists who attempted to storm the Bundestag on December 7 were taking Trump supporters as models. Using more than 3,000 security and law enforcement personnel, Germany arrested overnight 25 people suspected of plotting to overthrow the government.
Following the January 6 riots, Trump was impeached on account of “incitement of insurrection” but was later acquitted by the Senate. This was the second time Trump was impeached, with the first being in December 2019.
Last month, Trump announced his run for the presidential seat in 2024 but is going up against once-ally Ron DeSantis who in a recent poll by USA Today-Suffolk University was shown to have 56% of support by voters as opposed to 33% for Trump.
Even former US National Security Advisor John Bolton confirmed that he is considering preparing for his candidacy in the 2024 presidential race after calling Trump 'un-American' for wanting to terminate the Constitution.